Railroad-switch.



W. B. MILLER.

RAILROAD SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED 111111129, 1912.

COLUMIIA MIA?" CO" vuunlmu. D- C Patented May 26, 1914,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W. E. MILLER. RATLROAD SWITCH. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 29, 1912.

Patented May 26, 1914,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Wild/252 Z07.

WILLIAM E. MILLER, OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA.

RAILROAD-SWITCH.

1 ,097,817. Specification of Letters Patent Patented May 26, 1914:.

Application filed June 29, 1912. Serial No. 706,770.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. MILLER, citizen of the United States, residing at Savannah, in the county of Chatham and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Switches, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to railroad switches, and has for its object the provision of a switch which is normally closed and which will automatically close after having been opened to permit a car or train to pass onto a siding.

A further object of the invention is to provide simple and efficient means for locking the switch in its closed position and also to provide means whereby the switchman can hold the switch open until the car wheels have passed onto a movable rail.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter fully described, the novel features being subsequent-1y pointed out in the claims following the description.

In the drawings :-Figure 1 is a plan view of a railroad switch embodying my present invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail perspective View of the lock; Fig. l is a detail view of the device for holding the switch open.

The track consists of the ties, 1, and the rails, 2, secured upon the same in the usual manner. The switch embodies a long switch point 3 slidably mounted upon the ties and adapted to lie near the inner side of one of the track rails in its normal position. This switch point is formed at the end of a switch rail 4, and the said rail 4'. is connected by a brace or tie-rod 5 with the stub-rail 6 nor-- mally forming a part of the main track. The said stub-rail 6 has its end shaped to fit against the switch rail 7 so that in the normal position of the parts a smooth uninterrupted path for the car wheels will'be presented and pounding of the wheels will be obviated.

Upon two of the ties, I secure a base plate 8 which carries a cylinder 9 between the rails, and within the said cylinder is a plunger 10 having a plunger rod 11 extending from the end of the cylinder and passing under the point 3 and the adjacent track rail, the free end of said plunger rod being pivoted to a pit-man 12 which is pivotally attached to a crank arm 13011 the lower end of a post or signal staff let. A bracket 15 is secured upon the upper side of the plunger rod 11 and is also secured to the switch point 3 so that the movement of the plunger rod will be transmitted directly to the switch point, as will be readily understood. A spring 16 is coiled around the rod within the cylinder 9 between the plunger 10 and the end of the cylinder, so that, under its normal expanded condition, the spring will hold the switch in the closed position illustrated in Fig. 1.

An angle lever 17 is fulcrumed upon sills or extended tieslS and has one arm connected to the plunger rod and pitman, as clearly shown, the other arm of the said angle lever being pivoted to the end of a connecting rod 19 which extends over the ends of the ties parallel with the adjacent track rail. Angle levers 20 are fulcrumed upon the tics and pivoted to the said connecting rod 19; and also to brackets or connecting plates 21 which extend under the rail and are secured to the switch point, as shown and as will be readily understood. When the post or target staff 14: is rotated to draw the plunger 10 outwardly against the tension of the spring 16, the angle lever 17 will be also oscillated so that the connecting rod 19 will be moved toward the plunger rod and the levers 20 swung about their fulcrums to draw upon the connecting plates or brackets 21 and bring the long switch point 3 close against the track rail.

The rotary post or target staff 14 extends upwardly through a stand 22, upon the upper end of which is mounted a drum 23, the staff having an ,angular engagement with the head of said drum whereby the drum will follow the rotation of the staff as the switch is operated, and a jointed lever or handle 2a is secured to the drum and projects therefrom so that the drum may be manipulated to rotate the staff and thereby open the switch. The upper end of the stand 22 is closed or constructed with a partition 25' upon which the drum is rotatably mounted, and within the drum, I secure to the side of the same a bracket 26 to which is pivoted a latch 27 having a depending lip 28 adapted to engage a slot formed in the partition 25, so that, when the switch is closed the drum will be locked to the stand and cannot be rotated until first released by a person provided with a key. The latch 27 is normally held depressed so that the tongue 28 will engage the said slot by a spring 29 secured to the bracket 26 and bearing upon the said latch, as will be readily understood. The latch is provided with an upturned overhanging lip or hook 30 which is adapted to be engaged by the ward 31 of a key 32, so that, when the key is inserted into the drum and rotated, the ward will lift the latch against the force of the spring 29 and thereby withdraw the tongue 28 from the slot in the stand, so that the drum may be rotated. A post or standard 33 is provided adjacent the stand 22 and upon the said post or standard is pivotally hung a keeper or lever arm 3d having a shoulder 35 on its outer or upper edge.

The spring 163, acting upon the plunger 10, normally holds the stub-rail 6 against the switch rail 7 and the switch point 3 spaced from the track rail so that the main line will be opened and the switch closed. In this position of the parts the handle 24 will be at the rear of the stand 22 or at the point most remote from the track,

By referring to Fig. 1 it will be noticed that if the said handle be swung around to ward the post 33, the crank arm 13 will be swung away from the track, so that the plunger will be moved against the tension of the spring 16 and the switch point 3 moved against the track rail, while the stub-rail 6 will be moved from the switch rail 7 thereby opening the switch, it being understood that the tongue 28 is withdrawn from the partition 25 by manipulation of the key 32 before the staff is rotated. To hold the switch in its opened position against the tension of the spring 16, the handle 24 is brought into posit-ion against or over the post 33 and the lever 34 is then swung upwardly into the position shown in Fig. 4 behind the handle so that the handle will engage the shoulder 35 and be thereby pre vented from returning to its initial position. The switchman is thus relieved of the direct strain of holding the switch in the open position until some of the car wheels pass onto the switch point, after which the lever 34 may be dropped and the action of the wheels upon said point will sufiice to hold the switch open and the switch will be held open as long as any car wheels are upon one of the movable rails. The switch point should be of such length that it will be held against the track rail by one or more car wheels until the entire train has passed on to the siding. .Vhen the entire train has passed on to the siding and the switch point is freed of the car wheels, the spring 16 eX- pands against the plunger and thereby returns the parts to their normal positions and closes the switch.

In order that the flanges of the car wheels may not strike against the end of the switch point 3 when the parts are in their normal position, I provide a guard 36 on the cross tie adjacent the end of the switch point, said guard consisting of a short standard or lug projecting upwardly from the tie and having its upper surface beveled so that a car wheel, which might be momentarily out of true alinement with the track, will roll against the said guard and be thereby deflected toward the track of the switch point.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that I have provided a railroad switch which will prevent through trains passing onto a siding and in which the switch is automatically held in its normal closed position and cannot be opened accidentally, so that all liability of damage. from a misplaced switch will be overcome. The apparatus is composed of very few parts which are simple in their construction and consequently are not liable to get out of order. The device may be installed at a low cost and the cost of maintenance will be so slight as to be negligible. The latch being within the drum and completely inclosed thereby will at all times be in an operative condition and dirt and dust cannot accumulate therein to clog its action.

The lock is carried by the drum and follows the movement thereof and consequently the drum cannot be rotated unless the looking tongue be first withdrawn from the looking slot in the stand and when so withdrawn it rests on the partition in the stand so that when the switch is open the lock is inoperative and the spring 16 under tension. As soon, then, as all the car wheels have left the switch point 3 the spring expands and closes the switch as before stated. As the closing movement is limited by the tongue 28 dropping into the locking slot, the movement of the stub-rail 6 is checked so that it cannot jam against the switch rail 7 and shorten the life of the rails.

What I claim is 1. The combination of track rails, a switch point arranged adjacent one of the track rails, a plunger rod secured to said switch point, a spring acting on said plunger rod to normally move the switch point from the track rail, a rotary post, means acting on said post to lock the switch point in spaced relation to the track rails, a crank arm on said post, a pitman connecting said crank arm with the plunger rod, brackets secured to the switch point, angle levers connected to said brackets, a connecting rod pivoted to said angle levers, necting said connecting rod with the pitman.

2. The combination with a track rail, and a switch point, of means tending to move the switch point from the track rail, a switch and out of the line e and an angle lever constand, a rotary post j ournaled in the switch stand, connections between said post and the switch point to move the same to the track rail, a drum rotatably mounted in the stand and fixed to the said post, a handle projecting from the drum, and a holding lever mounted adjacent the stand and adapted to engage the said handle.

3. The combination of a switch, a spring acting thereon to normally hold it closed,a rotary post, connections whereby said post may open the switch in opposition to said spring, a handle adapted to rotate the post, and a shouldered lever mounted at one side of the post and adapted to be swung up behind the handle when the same is moved to open position.

at. The combination of a track rail, a switch point, a switch stand having a slot in its upper end, means acting on the switch to move the same from the track rail, means for moving the switch point to the track rail, a drum rotatably mounted upon the stand and movable with the said last mentioned means, a latch pivotally mounted within the drum and having a down-turned tongue adapted to engage the slot in the switch stand, an upturned overhanging lip adapted to be engaged by a releasing key, and a spring acting upon said latch to hold the same in engagement with the stand.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM E. MILLER.

Witnesses:

JASPER EVANS, J. W. Soon.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G. I 

